It’s the third week of the Tour de France, and Guillaume Boivin just wants a salad

Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast

Guillaume Boivin is toughing it out now in the final stages of the Tour de France. He's faced crashes, heat, mountain climbs and a lack of vegetables. Listen to find out exactly what's going on with his diet.

Boivin also discusses the Olympics. Near the beginning of July, he was named as the third rider, after Michael Woods and Hugo Houle, who will be at the road race in Tokyo. While still in the midst of his first Tour, Boivin looks ahead to his next big objective. In a way, the two events are similar: Boivin's role is to help Woods cross the finish line first.

Boivin has been with the team Israel Start-Up Nation in its various forms since 2016. Before that he did a season with U.S. team Optum presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies. There were also two years on the Cannondale WorldTour team with riders such as Peter Sagan, Matej Mohorič and Elia Viviani. Going way back, Boivin was on the influential Canadian pro continental squad SpiderTech. In 2010, he famously tied for third-place with Taylor Phinney at the under-23 world championship road race.

While Boivin loves to mix it up in a bunch sprint, throughout the past few years, he’s developed into a skilled support rider with a range of abilities. Take the current Tour de France, for example. Boivin’s first job has been to help a climber like Michael Woods with his goals of stage wins and the KOM jersey. Yet, Boivin can also help out a fast man like André Greipel.

The Tour de France is stressful for riders. But was Boivin dealing with an added stress at the start of the Tour? He’s a big hockey fan and his team is the Montreal Canadiens. (Also, make sure to listen to this story of Boivin's about catching a Habs game in Montreal with Sagan.) The Tour started just before the Stanley Cup finals got underway. With the time difference between France and North America, was Boivin losing precious sleep over his struggling Habs? That's where the conversation begins with this very Canadian rider.